Payment service providers and electronic money issuers with a head office in an EU Member State can operate establishments in other, host, Member States. Such establishments have to comply with the anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML / CFT) regime of the Member State in which they are based, even if they are not obliged entities themselves.

To facilitate AML / CFT supervision, several Member States require payment service providers and electronic money issuers to appoint a ‘central contact point’ (CCPoint). A CCPoint acts as a point of contact between the payment service provider or electronic money issuer and the host Member State’s competent authority. However, absent a common European approach to CCPoints, there are concerns regarding a risk of regulatory arbitrage.

create legal certainty about the criteria that Member States will use to determine whether or not a CCPoint must be appointed; and

clearly set out the functions a CCPoint must have to fulfil its duties.

Between February and May 2017 the ESAs publicly consulted on the draft RTS.

The ESAs have now published a final report containing the draft RTS which will be submitted to the European Commission for approval. Minor changes were made to the draft RTS as a result of the earlier public consultation.

In line with the mandate set out in Article 45(10) of the 4MLD, the draft RTS do not specify the form a CCPoint must take or determine when payment service providers or electronic money issuers provide services in another Member State through establishments.

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